BY Noel Talacay
THE Department of Education (DepEd) yesterday said the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC) has committed to support television and radio-based learning delivery for the school year 2020-2021.
DepEd Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del Pascua said the NTC has issued a memorandum to TV and radio operators asking them to provide free of charge public information on education.
He added the NTC also released a separate memorandum for cable operators, reminding them of the provisions of Section 6.3.2 Item C of NTC Memorandum Circular No. 4-08-88 which requires them to carry free public service features, including education, cultural and civic.
“The Department is determined to strengthen education delivery through television, whether it is through commercial broadcast TV networks, free channels, government-owned TV stations, and even cable TV networks,” Pascua said.
The DepEd had earlier joined hands with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to ensure the continued support of telecommunication companies in providing free access to various online learning platforms of the agency.
Pascua said DICT has instructed the NTC to mandate broadcast stations, channels, and cable TV providers to allocate broadcast hours and the use of equipment and resources to DepEd free of charge.
Pascua said this is in preparation for the opening of classes on August 24 that carries various learning modalities such as online, printed self learning materials, blended learning, television, and radio.
